~ An elderly man buys a parrot and brings him home. But the parrot starts insulting him and gets really nasty, so the man picks up the parrot and tosses him into the freezer to teach him a lesson. He hears the bird squawking for a few minutes, but all of a sudden the parrot is quiet. The man opens the freezer door, the parrot walks out, looks up at him and says, "I apologize for offending you, and I humbly ask your forgiveness." The man says, "Well, thank you. I forgive you." The parrot then says, "If you don't mind me asking, what did the chicken do?" ~ copied from a senior citizen joke website

It's Tuesday, August 7, 2018, and I'm thankful once again to bring you greetings from my keyboard to whatever electronic utility you use to receive and read my blog. The last few days have been pretty tough on yours truly. There's nothing quite like having a case of the flu smack dab in the middle of a hot weather August. I actually had to deal with chills and bones singing a mournfully sad song. What in the world brought that on? I know exactly what it was. It was the Shingrix. That's right. Side effects. This is the new shingles vaccine that is reportedly 90% more effective than its predecessor. The vaccine is given in two shots, several months apart. The first shot only made my arm feel like it might fall off. The second one, given last Thursday, it did a number on me. The good news is that this too will pass. Hopefully. It actually caused me to leave work early on Friday. I was incapacitated for the rest of that day and was operating on fumes on Saturday. However, thank You, Lord, I was able to teach my class on Sunday morning and make services on Sunday evening. I was telling an older friend about the new vaccine. He said he had decided a long time ago not to put poison like that into his body. I told him that we have known a number of people who came down with shingles, and, their pain and agony was an incentive for us to do whatever we can to avoid having it. He made it clear. Keep those poisons away from him. Here's the funny part. I know he takes several different medications but he obviously doesn't consider them to be poison. But, he is 81 years young, and very much entitled to do it 'his way'. He certainly would have chuckled to see me wearing a jacket all huddled over my keyboard, but, if given the choices again, I will still go with the one that promises these improved protections. That's just what old people talk forth and back about. Don't worry. If you are not there, you will be. Someday. Trust me.

To be honest, I did not see that one coming. The people here at work were surprised that any type of ailment would cause me to leave the property. The people in my home were stunned when they saw my truck pull in early. Back in the day, early in the morning, when I was in a head-on collision in a commuter van going into downtown Houston, no one knew where I was. No cell phones back then. My office staff was looking for me. They finally called my wife. She panicked as she had no idea because I had left at my regular time. I was on my way to a hospital in an ambulance while all of this was going on. Once there, I was able to have someone call and let people know about my situation. I was banged up and off from work a couple of days. When I returned to work and everyone saw that I was okay, well, that's when the jokes started coming from all directions. They all had something to do with trying to guess where I might have been. (Something akin to the Where's Waldo routine.) The one I heard most often had to do with them checking the funeral homes because I wasn't in my place at my regular time and no one knew where I was. I will confess that I am predisposed to typically arrive early to any of my scheduled destinations. And, I have always been an early bird at whatever place of employment I have worked. I remember a long time ago in a job I had at a VA Hospital, one of the fellows there asked me to please not start working early because it made everyone else look bad. I'm not saying I am right. We all are wired differently. And, in my case, I would not want to see the wiring diagram. Class, can you say the word Chaos?

We have a wedding coming up in our family. The wife's sister, Dorothy, will tie the knot in September. Widowed for six years, she, some time ago, reconnected to a fellow she knew from her teen years. He is widowed too. He goes by the nickname, Jimbo. They are both older than we are, but, romance makes one younger. They actually operate, maybe not like teenagers, but, perhaps, college-aged kids. They go here and there, and then they also go there and here, and they even stay out late at night. Really? I would need to know how that kind of activity works with regards to my regularly scheduled bedtime. The wife is in the wedding. Of course. Matron of honor, or, whatever they call it. (I think Maid is unmarried, and Matron is married, however, a rough translation sounded more like a new dress to me.) We have been around them some as a couple. They laugh often and it is obvious they very much enjoy being together. We couldn't be more excited for Dorothy. She has been an official part of our family since the wife and I said 'I do' back in 1964. She was the wife's Matron of honor at our wedding. Lots of history there. Sure enough. Our prayers are for God's blessings on them and this special occasion. And, these girls, as I still like to call them, well, they are about as close as sisters can be. That's about all I can say about it without getting into some kind of Hallmark Movie moment. Since I don't have my hanky with me, I better quit while I am ahead. You take care now, you hear? And, may God bless us all is my prayer. Amen. ...More later.